Related papers: Cobordism Conjecture, Anomalies, and the String La…
In this thesis, we explore two approaches to string phenomenology. In the first half of the work, we investigate M-theory compactifications on spaces with co-dimension four, orbifold singularities. We construct M-theory on C^2/Z_N by…
In this work we study the cancellation of non-perturbative anomalies of gravitational theories with gauge group $\mathbb{Z}_k$ in six dimensions. These subtle anomalies require a classification of deformation classes of manifolds with…
We consider supergravity theories with 16 supercharges in Minkowski space with dimensions $d>3$. We argue that there is an upper bound on the number of massless modes in such theories depending on $d$. In particular we show that the rank of…
We analyze the U-duality group for the case of a type II superstring compactified to four dimensions on a K3 surface times a torus. The various limits of this theory are considered which have interpretations as type IIA and IIB…
We present a consistency condition for 8d ${\cal N} = 1$ supergravity theories with non-trivial global structure $G/Z$ for the non-Abelian gauge group, based on an anomaly involving the $Z$ 1-form center symmetry. The interplay with other…
In this manuscript, we consider cobordism operations in the $2$-dimensional labeled open-closed topological quantum field theory for the classifying space of a connected compact Lie group in the sense of Guldberg. In particular, it is…
We consider the conditions necessary for obtaining perturbative maximal supergravity in d dimensions as a decoupling limit of type II superstring theory compactified on a (10 -- d)-torus. For dimensions d = 2 and d = 3 it is possible to…
We describe a general method for deducing T-dualities of little string theories, which are dualities between these theories that arise when they are compactified on circle. The method works for both untwisted and twisted circle…
We study the cobordism conjecture of McNamara and Vafa which asserts that the bordism group of quantum gravity is trivial. In the context of type IIB string theory compactified on a circle, this predicts the presence of D7-branes. On the…
We study the restrictions imposed by cancellation of the tadpoles for two, three, and four-form gauge fields in string theory, M-theory and F-theory compactified to two, three and four dimensions, respectively. For a large class of…
We use freely acting asymmetric orbifolds of type IIB string theory to construct a class of theories in four dimensions with eight supercharges. Their low energy effective field theories resemble $STU$ models, but have different duality…
String theory contains various extended objects. Among those, objects of codimension two (such as the D7-brane) are particularly interesting. Codimension two objects carry non-Abelian charges which are elements of a discrete U-duality group…
We study orbifold compactifications of F-theory which lead to $N=1$ supersymmetry in 6 and 4 spacetime dimensions. These are dual to specific orientifolds of M-theory, and in many cases to orientifolds of type IIB string theory. The…
Duality groups of Abelian gauge theories on four manifolds and their reduction to two dimensions are considered. The duality groups include elements that relate different space-times in addition to relating different gauge-coupling…
This paper explores the moduli-dependent coefficients of higher derivative interactions that appear in the low-energy expansion of the four-graviton amplitude of maximally supersymmetric string theory compactified on a d-torus. These…
We perform a bordism computation to show that the $E_{7(7)}(\mathbb{R})$ U-duality symmetry of 4d $\mathcal N = 8$ supergravity could have an anomaly invisible to perturbative methods; then we show that this anomaly is trivial. We compute…
In a previous paper we had proposed a specific route to relating the entropy of two charge black holes to the degeneracy of elementary string states in N=4 supersymmetric heterotic string theory in four dimensions. For toroidal…
There are an infinite number of type IIB superstrings in ten dimensions, called (p,q) strings, that are labeled by two distinct string charges. They can form string junctions and string networks. These are the key to understanding the…
There exists a rare class of R-symmetry gauged $N=(1,0)$ supergravities in six dimensions with gauge group $G\times U(1)_R$, where $G$ is semisimple with rank greater than one, and the number of tensor multiplets $n_T=1$, which are free…
We present nontrivial examples of d=3 gauge theories with sixteen and eight supercharges which are infrared dual at special points in the moduli space. This duality is distinct from mirror symmetry. To demonstrate duality we construct the…